Dino Puberty Blues – Excerpt

Nanotyrannus was a bit like a Tyrannosaurus rex, except it had 17 teeth in its lower jaw, while a T. rex had 12 lower jaw teeth and a less elongated skull.

However, now it seems that Nanotyrannus should never have been identified as a separate species at all. Leading dinosaur paleontologist Dr Jack Horner of Montana State University says that Nanotyrannus was in fact a juvenile T. rex, whose skull changed dramatically as it matured. The transition to adulthood also saw it trade its small, blade-like teeth to make room for a larger set of adult teeth.

The Nanotyrannus mix-up came to light after a dinosaur mid-way between a ‘Nanotyrannus’ and T. rex was discovered, which had 14 lower jaw teeth.

Horner, with his paleontologist colleague Dr Mark Goodwin of the University of California, cited this as just one of many examples of juvenile and adult dinosaurs having been wrongly labelled as separate species. They suggest that as many as a third of all known dinosaur species will need to be reclassified.

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